I'm hoping to start a discussion on some of the problems of doing a full color change on a car. All of the dealers I have talked to say do NOT change the color from the original. Let's try to keep this as generic and non-color specific as possible please.

I need to paint my car due to clear coat damage, so I have to decided to do a color change or keep the color I have now. I am also not looking for reasons why a color change is a good idea, I already know most of those. Thank you.

Negatives I've heard so far (are these valid concerns?):
Dramatically lower resale value (everyone assumes it was in an accident)
Areas where the old color can still be seen (i.e. under certain moldings, by windshields)

Any other issues you've had/heard of?
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the price of a full respray in a different color is way higher the painting the stock color. You need a lot more labour to get things done. Painting the stock color is just a easier process.

 

I think no matter how well of a job you do when changing colors if the car isnt dissasembled correctly it will look terrible.Over time the edges will not hold up as well either.I think that the glass and everything else needs to be removed to do the job correctly and thats going to cost alot more money.

 

if you're gonna do it, do it right, paint all the jambs and engine bay

 

what color is it if you dont mind me asking? what kind of car?

OEM color for sure, so much better imo. I am a purist.

 

Are you doing the work are paying someone to? That makes all the difference. Is there a budget you're working with? And most importantly, what do you want? Don't be worried about resale value. It's not as true as they say. I've done many color changes in my home garage. Some for people and some were front end collisions that I fixed and sold. Changing the color made no difference in resale. It all depends on what color you choose. I've even tried a risky color off a Lamborghini color code and sold that car in 2 days. This was just over a year ago.

If you really want a color change and have the money for it then do it. Don't let stupid factors get in the way. If you're doing the work yourself then it won't really cost more but will just take longer removing everything off the car to get it completely painted in and out. Just make sure it gets done right. It's not always necessary to remove the windows. Some windows yes but some windows have rubber moldings that can be flipped up so you can get paint in there. 3m actually makes a tape that flips it up.

The only real problem to doing a color change is the engine bay but if the original color is black then you're in the clear cause a black engine bay will match any color. In fact some new cars come with black engine bays regardless of the car color. My friends 09 GTR is gray and the engine bay is black.

Just do what you want and enjoy the car and don't worry about resale. You can't go wrong with just repainting it the OEM color but that also goes the same for a color change and if you do it right and it comes out nice you won't have a problem selling it. Even if it has a salvage title or previous accident. Here's proof. This is a link to a Prelude that I bought for my girl but she wrecked it. This is the car I spoke of above with the Lamborghini color. After the accident it had a salvage title. I had no problem selling it after I fixed it. Got more than blue book with a salvage title. https://honda-tech.com/forums/paint-body-84/preludes-back-life-2610939/

 

that lude looks good man! if you dont mind me asking do you make decent money flipping cars? and whats the main thing to do to it to make money, paint, detailing?
(not trying to thread jack!)

 

exactly what i was going to say.

 

I don't always flip cars. Cars is just my hobby. I kinda do it when I see a good opportunity. My real job has nothing to do with cars but is my main source of income. Everything I do with cars is just a hobby. It really has nothing to do with money but if I see a good opportunity to make some money I'll do it. I only take jobs from others if I have the time and the owner agrees to no deadlines. Because I have my real job I can't work on projects everyday.

I don't always paint, sometimes I do some welding or fab stuff. If you wanna make money flipping cars. Find deals on cars with a high market value in the area you live in. Try to get the lowest price on it and examine the car first to make sure you'll turn a profit. You need to justify all the costs first and how much you expect to sell it for after it's done to figure if it's worth all the work. If you have the time, just do jobs for other people. Then you don't have to front any costs but expect deadlines cause most people expect their car back and some even expect it done fast. That's why I hate doing jobs for others and if I do, I make sure they agree to my terms first. I make the rules not them. Why? Because if they don't like it they can **** off and go to a bodyshop and pay their prices and possibly for a job they won't be satisfied with. If I do a job for someone I make them pay half up front. That way all material costs are covered and nothing comes out of your pocket.

For that Prelude above, it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down. I bought that car for my girlfriend temporarily because I was fixing some damage on her 05 Corolla but I didn't have the time to do it fast and she needed a car. Got the car for 5 g's. A few months later someone slams their breaks in front of her and she rear ends them. Insurance totalled the car, paid me out $5800 (which is more than I paid or it), and gave me the opportunity to buy it back for $800. I couldn't resist especially knowing the condition of the car. There was no obvious frame damage and and I took measurements and it all looked straight. I could have parted it out or fixed it and still made money. I decided to fix it once I priced all the parts. I got a JDM complete front clip with bumper, lights, radiator, core support, ac condensor, fog lights, fenders, and hood for $700. All I need now was to find 2 air bags and module. Found that on ebay for $280 complete. Next I had to buy the USDM fog light switch, harness, and paint supplies. Switch and harness was like $60 and I forget what the paint was cause it wasn't much. I really just had to buy the color. I always have left over primer sealer and clear from other jobs. And the last expense was and ac recharge kit for $40 and an alignment ($65) after the car was done. Alignment was straight and barely off spec. Funny how the damage looked way worse than it was.

So in all I put back around 2 g's into this car and sold it for $5500 with a salvage title. So not only did I collect on the insurance money of $5800, I also collected on the sale of the car of $5500 (less the 2 g's put in). This was a rare opportunity I just had to take!

 

its a huge mission!

 

do you guys think paying 1500 for full paint stage prime.. base..color..clear, straightening out my front end.. and re aligning my doors/ fenders is a good price? My paint had previously chipped and crap like that.. due to a shitty prep job on a stage 1 paint.

 

if that price includes a bodyman doing all of the appropriate R/I work and a painter that knows how to lay it down, then that's a heck of a deal for sure.

 

Yea this guy does lots of work for Lots.. and private customers, he said he's never had someone come back.. and i made sure he knew i would if anything was wrong... Chill guy though.